Dispensing box and cup support



Aug. 20, 1957 I K. H. KAY

' RSBENsING BOX AND CUP SUPPORT Filed Jan. 28, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS 8-v 1957 K. H. MacKAY 2,303,390

DISPENSING BOX AND CUP SUPPORT Filed Jan. 28, 1953 V 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent *9 DISPENSING BOX AND CUP SUPPORT Kenneth H. MacKay, Ocala, Fla.

Application January 28, 1953, Serial No. 333,736

1 Claim. (Cl. 229-17) This invention relates to a dispensing box and cup support intended for use with various confections and beverages such as soft drinks.

It is now a common practice to sell packages of pop corn and soft drinks in paper cups at moving picture theatres and similar places of amusement. operators of such theatres depend upon the sale of confections and soft drinks for a substantial proportion of their income. It is the principal purpose of this invention to facilitate the eating of pop corn in moving picture theatres and the like and to provide simple and convenient means for supporting a box of pop corn and a paper cup containing a soft drink. A further objective is to provide means for promoting the sale of additional boxes of pop corn and beverages in paper cups for consumption after the patron leaves the moving picture theatre.

In general, it is the object of this invention to provide a simple and inexpensive pop corn box with means for conveniently dispensing the pop corn, supporting a paper cup in the box, and mounting the box assembly thus provided on the back of a seat, or the door or dash panel of an automobile.

More specifically, it is intended to provide a paper box having a dispensing opening at the bottom, a cup supporting structure at the top, and means derived from the cup supporting structure for use in mounting or supporting the box and the dispensable confection and consumable beverage in a simple, efiicient manner that does not involve any marring of the surface to which it is attached.

It is also a particular object of the invention to provide a pop corn or other confection box of the character indicated of such construction that there is a minimum increase in cost and a minimum alteration of conventional box structure.

These and other objects contributing to satisfaction in use, and economy of manufacture will be more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of the box and cup support in closed condition as it would be sold to a consumer and user;

Fig. 2 is a front perspective View of the box in open condition but unfilled;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the open box of Fig. 2 attached for use on the door of an automobile;

Fig. 4 is a central vertical section of the closed box shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal cross section of the box taken on the line VV of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a central vertical section of the same box taken on the line VIVI of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a central vertical section of the open, unfilled box of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a front perspective view of the box in full,

In fact, the

open, and dispensing relation, mounted on a car door sill and supporting a beverage cup; and

Fig. 9 is a partial top perspective view of the box showing the cup receiving and box supporting structure in operative relation.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings a box unit 10 is shown to comprise a top or closure flap 12 having an infolded tuck 13, a bottom 14, opposite sides 16, 16, a front 18 and a back 20 (Figs. 7 and 9). The rectangular box unit 10 as shown has the tall, wide and shallow proportions of the familiar paper boxes used for the sale of pop corn.

As shown best in Fig. 2 the front panel 18 has a large opening21 extending the .widththereof from.the bottom upward a substantial distance. A closure portion 22 for this opening is integrally hinged at its lower edge to the front edge of the bottom panel 14 and is formed to provide a wide tongue 24 on its upper edge for interengagement with a transverse slit 26 formed in the front panel 18 a short distance above the upper edge of the opening 21. The manner in which the tongue 24 interengages with the slit 26 and extends on the inner side of the front panel 18 to hold the box in closed relation is clearly shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

In order to limit the outward movement of the closure portion 22 to a slightly upwardly inclined, and nonspilling position, a flexible side member 28 of generally right triangle configuration is formed integral with each side edge of the said closure portion adjacent its hinged connection. The upper portion of each side member 28 is inserted in an arcuate slit 30 extending from the side edge of the front panel 13 at a point substantially above the bottom 14 rearwardly and downwardly as shown best in Fig. 2. The upper end portion of each triangular side member 28 is formed with a hooked stop projection 32 that engages the upper forward end of the respective slit 3! and limits outward movement of the closure portion or flap 22 to the position illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

In order to provide a mounting means and an opening for receiving the bottom portion of a paper cup C (Fig. 8), the top closure flap 12 and an adjacent portion of the infolded tuck or flap 13 thereof is provided with a central, generally circular tab 34 defined by a tear line of scoring 36, the tab not being produced until the scoring line is broken as shown by the sequence of Figs. 1 and 2.

The preferred means for supporting or mounting an open box unit 19 for dispensing the pop corn and supporting the beverage cup C is a strip of pressure sensitive adhesive 38 of rectangular shape extending across the box top part of the tab 34 as shown in Fig. l. The adhesive side of the strip 38 is disposed outermost and the strip is conveniently and efiiciently secured to the central tab 34 by means of one or more wire staples 40 extending transversely thereof as shown best in Fig. 1. The thus exposed adhesive surface may be temporarily covered by a readily detachable masking strip 42 of glassine or waxed paper or the like. It is to be noted that by locating the line of attachment by the staples 40 nearly central of the tab 34 or even forwardly of the center, very satisfactory leverage is obtained for completing the severing of the scoring line 36, after severing has been started by inserting the finger between the front panel 18 and the downturned scored portion.

Since the box unit 10 as sold is so full of pop corn PC or the like that a paper cup C containing a soft drink cannot be inserted in the circular opening providedby separation of the central tab 34 and folding it back to the position of Fig. 2, some of the contents of the box is permitted to discharge into the ledge or hopper provided by the front closure portion 22 and its integral side 3 members 28 when in the open position shown in Figs. 2 and 8. It is of course necessary to withdraw the tongue 24 from the slit 26 before the closure portion 22 can be opened.

With a pop corn box 19 of the standard proportions illustrated in the drawings there would not be sufiicient opening for the insertion of the usual size paper cup but for a pair of downwardly and outwardly diverging slashes 44 extending from the hinge line of the central tab 34 to points well below the upper edge of the back 20, in the manner shown best in Fig. 9 and to some extent in Fig. 8.

Figs. 3 and 8 illustrate one manner of mounting the open box supporting the beverage cup C on a door D of an automobile, said door having a window glass G and Ya trim strip T to which the pressure sensitive strip 38 carried by the central tab 34 is intimately joined in a detachable manner. While the tab 34 of the box top 12 has a certain amount of flexibility, a much better adhesive engagement between the strip 33 and the trim piece T is obtained by reason of the fact that the strip 38 is secured to the tab 34 only by a line connection provided by the wire staples 40. Such a form of connection between the tab 34 and the adhesive strip 38 avoids the stripping tendency that would exist if the less flexible tab 34 were secured to the adhesive strip 38 throughout the length of the latter. Further, the vibration of the car door D is thus insulated to a very substantial extent from acting on the box 10 and causing separation of the adhesive connection.

It will now be understood that this invention provides a simple and economicalconfection box construction having mounting or supporting means and provision for supporting a beverage cup in the box when part of the contents is displaced into a tray or hopper portion formed by opening a part of the box. The combination of functions possessed by the box of this invention makes it possible for a patron leaving a theatre to purchase a box of. pop corn, insert a paper cup containing beverage into the upper portion of the box and quickly and efiiciently attach the assembly thus produced to his automobile for subsequent consumption. These features also facilitate the eating of pop corn or similar confection in the moving picture theatre or other place of amusement.

The objects of the invention as expressed have thus been attained to a high degree with a minimum alteration of box construction and increase of box cost, and with a substantial enhancement of utility.

Although only a single preferred embodiment of the box construction has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, it will be appreciated that'the principles of this invention may be utilized in diflerent box constructions and with different arrangements of parts without departing from the invention and the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A combination cup holder and particle form confection dispenser of integral construction, said combination comprising an elongated, rectangular paper box having a closed bottom, an open end and an integrally connected closure iiap adapted to close said open end, a delivery opening extending downwardly from the lower end .portion of the front panel,.a closure portion integrally hinged to the front edge of the bottom, said closure portion being formed arranged to close the delivery opening in one position, each opposite side panel of the box being formed with a transverse siit in the lower portion, and an integral triangular side member slidably connecting. each side edge of the closure portion with the corresponding adjacent side panel of the box by interengagernent with the slit thereof, the front panel of the box having means cooperable with the closure portion for releasabiy holding the closure portion in place over the delivery opening, the closure fiap for the open end of the box being hinged to the back panel along the upper edge of the back panel, said flap having an infolded portion fitting down behind the pper portion of the front panel, the closure flap having a central defined by a generally circular line of scoring, said scoring extending from the hinged portion of the flap into the infolded portion for separate opening of the flap portion defined thereby, the backpanel being formed with downwardly and outwardly diverging expansion slashes extending from its upper edge on opposite sides of the central tab, the opening in the closure flap being adapted in c operation with said expansion slashes to receive and resiliently hold cups of varying diameters.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

